Isaiah 8

1 And YHWH says to me, “Take a great tablet to yourself, and write on it with an engraving tool of man, To hurry spoil, enjoy prey.”

Then the LORD said to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary stylus: Maher-shalal-hash-baz.

2 And I cause faithful witnesses to testify to me, Uriah the priest, and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah.

And I will appoint for Myself trustworthy witnesses—Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.”

3 And I draw near to the prophetess, and she conceives, and bears a son; and YHWH says to me, “Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz,

And I had relations with the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. The LORD said to me, “Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz.

4 for before the youth knows to cry, My father, and, My mother, one takes away the wealth of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria, before the king of Asshur.”

For before the boy knows how to cry ‘Father’ or ‘Mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”

5 And YHWH adds to speak to me again, saying,

And the LORD spoke to me further:

6 “Because that this people has refused The waters of Shiloah that go softly, And is rejoicing with Rezin and the son of Remaliah,

“Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoiced in Rezin and the son of Remaliah,

7 Therefore, behold, the Lord is bringing up on them, The waters of the river, the mighty and the great (The king of Asshur, and all his glory), And it has gone up over all its streams, And has gone on over all its banks.

the Lord will surely bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates — the king of Assyria and all his pomp. It will overflow its channels and overrun its banks.

8 And it has passed on into Judah, It has overflown and passed over, It comes to the neck, And the stretching out of its wings Has been the fullness of the breadth of your land, O Immanuel!

It will pour into Judah, swirling and sweeping over it, reaching up to the neck; its spreading streams will cover your entire land, O Immanuel!

9 Be friends, O nations, and be broken, And give ear, all you far-off ones of earth, Gird yourselves, and be broken, Gird yourselves, and be broken.

Huddle together, O peoples, and be shattered; pay attention, all you distant lands; prepare for battle, and be shattered; prepare for battle, and be shattered!

10 Take counsel, and it is broken, Speak a word, and it does not stand, Because of Immanuel!”

Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; state a proposal, but it will not happen. For God is with us.”

11 For thus has YHWH spoken to me with strength of hand, and instructs me against walking in the way of this people, saying,

For this is what the LORD has spoken to me with a strong hand, instructing me not to walk in the way of this people:

12 “You do not say, A confederacy, To all to whom this people says, A confederacy, And its fear you do not fear, Nor declare fearful.

“Do not call conspiracy everything these people regard as conspiracy. Do not fear what they fear; do not live in dread.

13 YHWH of Hosts—Him you sanctify, And He [is] your Fear, and He your Dread,

The LORD of Hosts is the One you shall regard as holy. Only He should be feared; only He should be dreaded.

14 And He has been for a sanctuary, And for a stone of stumbling, and for a rock of falling, To the two houses of Israel, For a trap and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

And He will be a sanctuary— but to both houses of Israel a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, to the dwellers of Jerusalem a trap and a snare.

15 And many among them have stumbled and fallen, And been broken, and snared, and captured.”

Many will stumble over these; they will fall and be broken; they will be ensnared and captured.”

16 Bind up the testimony, Seal the Law among My disciples.

Bind up the testimony and seal the law among my disciples.

17 And I have waited for YHWH, Who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob, And I have looked for Him.

I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob. I will put my trust in Him.

18 Behold, I, and the children whom YHWH has given to me, [Are] for signs and for wonders in Israel, From YHWH of Hosts, who is dwelling in Mount Zion.

Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me as signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD of Hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.

19 And when they say to you, “Seek to those having familiar spirits, And to wizards, who chatter and mutter,” Does a people not seek to its God? To the dead on behalf of the living?

When men tell you to consult the spirits of the dead and the spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?

20 To the Law and to the testimony! If not, let them say after this manner, “That there is no dawn to it.”

To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.

21 And it has passed over into it, hardened and hungry, And it has come to pass, That it is hungry, and has been angry, And made light of its king, and of its God, And has looked upwards.

They will roam the land, dejected and hungry. When they are famished, they will become enraged; and looking upward, they will curse their king and their God.

22 And it looks attentively to the land, And behold, adversity and darkness! Dimness, distress, and thick darkness are driven away, But not the dimness for which she is in distress!

Then they will look to the earth and see only distress and darkness and the gloom of anguish. And they will be driven into utter darkness.